Willson Contreras made sure Yadier Molina won’t be forgotten on Opening Day

Willson Contreras is readying to fill the shoes of St. Louis Cardinals legend Yadier Molina on Opening Day but he isn’t forgetting his predecessor. 

On Thursday when the St. Louis Cardinals take the field at Busch Stadium against the Blue Jays, it’ll be a new scene for catcher Willson Contreras. The longtime rival of the Redbirds as a member of the Chicago Cubs is the new high-priced backstop in St. Louis and will make his first start with his new club on Opening Day.

Contreras, of course, will be filling the role occupied for the better part of two decades by Yadier Molina, a Cardinals legend that will be nearly unrivaled in the modern era of baseball.

And the former Cub — surely to the chagrin of his entire former fan base — isn’t forgetting whose place he’s taking and, more importantly, is making sure that no one forgets about Molina either.

Saying that Molina “owns this city”, Contreras will have “Respect4” on his cleats for Cardinals Opening Day, an homage to the catcher who came before him.

Willson Contreras pays tribute to Yadier Molina for Cardinals debut on Opening Day

Contreras obviously knows that replacing Molina is no easy task. But it’s one that the former Cubs star appears more than ready to take on.

The big question will be how the Cardinals will fair with Contreras as a defensive presence behind the plate given that Molina was elite for his entire career in that capacity while the prized free agent newcomer for St. Louis this offseason has been average at best. With a bat in his hands, though, that’s where we could see a big-time upgrade.

Near the end of his career, Molina simply was not the reliable hitter he was for so long. More importantly, there was almost no pop left in his bat. Contreras, meanwhile, might not be the high-average hitter that Molina was in his prime, but has hit at least 21 home runs in each of the last three full major league seasons.

Putting Contreras in the lineup with Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and a host of other big-time bats should only allow him to see more pitches and, subsequently, do more damage.

It’ll be a different look than it was last year in Yadier Molina’s swan song, but it’s a new look that could ultimately benefit the Cardinals. More importantly, though, Contreras isn’t trying to replace Molina, as evidenced by his tribute. He’s trying to live up to the standard of greatness that was set by Molina.